Sometimes you Can't Make it On Your Own
by KiKiCohen
Summary: Kirsten and her accident. Summer and her abusive dad. The two are always there to help eachother deal, like mother and daughter. FINISHED!
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize…I don't own… **

**A/N: yeah I don't know this idea has been like haunting me…omg I met Tate Donovan in my dream and he was with Peter Gallagher…they were at my school and it was really weird…WITHOUT FURTHUR ADIEU… **

**­­­­­­**"Morning gorgeous," Sandy greeted his wife as she walked into the kitchen.

"Hey Sandy," she rushed around the kitchen to find a mug for her coffee, "Ryan. Seth." She picked up the pace as she hurried around the kitchen.

"What's the rush?" Sandy asked, grabbing her around the waist and giving her a little kiss.

"EW…no PDA in the kitchen unless you want to see my bagel and coffee on the floor," Seth joked, pretending to shield his eyes from the scene.

"Hurry?" she tried to hide the fact that her father always wanted her to be at work early so he could yell at her about the meeting that they probably had.

"You are running around the…" Sandy stopped mid sentence, "Don't worry about your dad sweetie."

"Yeah Kirsten, I mean he is like old and doesn't even have as much power as you anymore…" Ryan finally spoke, reminding her, "So if you guys could stop talking so loud and maybe I will pass my physics test…" Everyone laughed, looking over at Ryan.  
"Thanks," Kirsten smiled, "You made my morning. Now study!" Ryan looked up and smiled at his, well the only mother that was ever, well, motherly.

"Do you guys need a ride to school?" Sandy asked, "I don't have a meeting until later." Ryan and Seth looked at each other and Seth gave a sheepish grin.  
"Marissa is picking us up, she probably just wants to see Ryan," Seth patted Ryan on the back and received a deathly stare back.

"Way to go," Sandy laughed, "Catching the ladies like flies." Sandy left the kitchen and Ryan elbowed Seth.

"Thanks for that," he hit him again, "We aren't together and now he tells Kirsten who mentions it to Julie who tells Caleb who tells Marissa to stay away from me who comes to me and says we aren't together and never were and then Summer finds out and somehow finds a way to blame it on you." Seth hadn't ever remembered that many words out of Ryan's mouth.

"Whoa buddy," Seth joked, "Hope you didn't hurt yourself using all of those words." Ryan conveyed his feelings with "the look."

As the boys now sat in the kitchen, Kirsten ran in to say bye to them.

"Bye guys," she kissed them both on top of the head, "Don't forget, you guys need to be home tonight…I have a surprise waiting."

"Bye mom," Seth looked up at her, "I can't wait…"

"Bye Kirsten," Ryan smiled, "A surprise? Oh boy…"

Kirsten hurried out of the kitchen as the two guys looked over at each other. As Kirsten hurried out, Marissa walked in the door, walking into the kitchen. She looked gorgeous in her new Marc Jacobs flats, Seven for All Mankind Jeans, and a cute vintage looking shirt. Ryan's jaw was on the verge of dropping as Marissa started talking to Seth.

"Ready to go?" she asked, giving Ryan a good morning hug.

"I call shotgun!" Ryan started running towards the door, Seth and Marissa followed laughing.

_This traffic! _Kirsten thought. She drove her Range Rover down Church Street towards her job at the Newport Group. _Maybe I'll just take some back roads _she told herself, turning onto Newport Avenue. She started down the road, turning on the radio and tapping her fingers to one of Sandy's Sinatra CDs. The traffic light was clearly green and she started towards it, completely oblivious of the car speeding through the red light. The sounds of screeching tires and shattering of glass filled the sky as the cars behind the Range Rover quickly stopped. Tonya Smith, a local Newportian stepped out of her Honda Accord to examine the accident. She had not been in the accident but had been riding behind the Range Rover in which she had been admiring the look of the car. She noted to herself that the Ford Expedition was definitely at fault. Tonya walked towards the Range Rover and looked in the window. The impact had hit the driver's side.

"Hello?" she called towards both cars.

"Mmmph," a sound came from the Expedition.

"Are you alright?" she asked the teen that was at the wheel.

"Yeah," he answered, "But I'm in trouble…"

"Do you know your name?" she asked him.

"Jeff," he told her. The passengers from the cars around were beginning to get out of their cars, one lady called 911. Tonya walked towards the Range Rover and knocked on the window. Kirsten's head was in the window, which was now covered in blood.  
"Hello?" the lady called, running towards the passenger door. She had been a paramedic many years ago and knew that the driver's door would probably not budge. She heard sirens coming and backed out of the door, standing back on the sidewalk. The paramedics rushed towards the Range Rover, and one began giving the lady CPR.

"Come here," one policeman told another, "I found an I.D…you go back to the car and try to find the husband if this lady has a husband, and call him and tell her to come to the hospital, if there are more than one Cohen, the DMV has her files, now scram!" The second police officer ran towards the car as the first one headed towards Jeff, who looked pretty shook up.

"This lady looks bad…" the paramedics gently placed her head in a neck holder on a gurney and held a washcloth against her forehead. Her collarbone stuck out at a weird angle on her left and her left leg looked very deformed. They didn't even want to know what internally was wrong. The ambulance sped away, its flashing lights telling other drivers to move out of the way.

Marissa and Ryan laughed as they walked down the hall hand-in-hand. They weren't technically a couple yet, but they sure acted like one.

"Hey Coop, Chino," Summer walked up to the two, "Where's Cohen?"

"Have you ever noticed that all of our nicknames start with 'C'?" Marissa asked the two as Summer looked like she was putting thought to the idea.

"Well then I need a 'C' nickname too!" Summer cried.

"You can be…Cooky…" Ryan suggested.

"Corny!" Summer gave her little voice to him.

"Cranky?" Marissa suggested, smiling.

"COOP!" Summer cried.

"Sorry that's my nick name, we could just call you 'C'?" Marissa was now laughing, she didn't remember anything this fun in a long time.

"C…" she repeated, "Whatevs. See you guys at lunch?"

"Def," Ryan mocked her, as she playfully slapped her. He thought life was perfect at the time.

" Sanford?" Caleb had called him in hopes of finding out where his daughter was and why she was not at work on time, "Where is KiKi?"

"She left for work before me," he explained, guessing that there was traffic of that she stopped for more coffee.

"Well I need her here now!" he cried, pacing back and forth around the room. He was getting aggravated, not even thinking that she was in trouble.

Sandy hung up the phone and sat wondering, _Where is Kirsten? _Thinking of the possibilities, his head spun around in circles.

Suddenly his phone rung, the Caller I.D. told him it was the police.

**Please Comment…you KNOW you want to… **

**A/N: next chapter the family will find out and most of it will be in the hospital, I really hope you like this story… **


	2. Hospital Spooks

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize…I don't own… **

**A/N: so I JUST finished the first chapter, I don't know if I'll like stick with the story so I am doing a lot today and stuff. **

**­­­­­­**"Hello?" Sandy answered the phone, his hand shaking.

"This is Matthew Johnson with the Newport Police," he gave Sandy a second to take in who was calling, "This morning Kirsten Cohen, assuming your wife, was in an accident, which was completely not her fault, she is in critical condition at the HOAG, and I request that you come if possible." Sandy's world had just fallen around him in little pieces.

"Sure," Sandy told him, "I'll be there as soon as I can." Sandy didn't know what to do; so he put his head in his hands in an effort to calm himself down. His eternal love was…wait…_WHY AM I STANDING AROUND? _With the thoughts all jumbled in his head he ran to his car and sped out of the parking lot.

"Can I please see Seth Cohen and Ryan Atwood in the office?" the receptionist interrupted their math class.

"Ooooooooooo," the class joked around as the two boys stood up and headed towards the door, giving each other weird looks, wondering what they had done.

"Is something wrong?" Seth asked the lady on the way to the office.

"Your father is on the phone with something he really needs to tell you," she explained, holding open the office door. She motioned towards the phone on her desk.

"What's up dad?" Seth asked, suddenly his face drooped, "Can we come?...Please…Marissa could…we'll go…go…get our stuff." His voice became shaky.

"What's wrong?" Ryan's face looked concerned.

"Mom…" Seth looked at Ryan, "She was in an accident and we have to get Marissa to take us to the hospital if we want a ride there. Dad sounded really shook up."

Seth and Ryan ran into their class and grabbed their bags, everyone watching. The teacher could tell that something was going on and let them go.

"What class is she in?" Seth looked towards Ryan.

"Physics!" he remembered, rushing towards the physics room. Ryan pushed the door open, "May I please see Marissa Cooper, it is an emergency." The teacher gave him a look of disgust as Marissa hopped out of her seat and ran to the door.

"What is it?" she asked, looking concerned.

"Kirsten was in an accident and is at the hospital, we really need to get there…like NOW," he explained, sweat running down his forehead.

"Sure," she gave him a look of sorrow, "I'll be right back." She ran into the classroom and grabbed her books, completely passing by her teacher.

Julie Cooper sat on the couch in her mansion watching the 11:00 AM news. She hadn't been feeling great and wasn't really needed at work that day. A reporter came up on the screen from the scene of an accident.

"Today, Jeff Lorenstein ran a red light when he was late to school, slamming his Ford Expedition into the driver's side of Kirsten Cohen's Range Rover," the reporter informed her, showing pictures of the scene. Julie's hand went directly to her mouth as she noticed blood on the windshield of one of her best friend's cars.

"It was awful, the Rover moved over a couple of feet," Tonya told the newscaster as Julie kept her eyes on the TV. She decided to call Caleb and ask what was going on.

"Caleb?" she asked, sounding shook up.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Is Kirsten at work?"

"No."

"Well I know where she is."

"Where?"

"She was in an accident and is in critical condition."

His jaw dropped to the floor as he grabbed his car keys.  
"Go to the hospital, I'll see you there." With his last comment, Caleb hung up the phone.

Sandy arrived at the hospital, completely shaking with fear. He hurried towards the front desk.

"Hello?" the sweet young lady looked up at him.

"I was wondering if you could give me information about the patient Kirsten Cohen?" he asked.

"Over here," Matthew motioned to him, coming out of the hallway to the side of him.

"Wait sir," the nurse looked at him, "Here is some paperwork to fill out. Mr. Johnson has information on her condition." Sandy rushed over to the police officer and looked at him with longing eyes.

"She's in surgery," he explained, "Her lung almost collapsed and she had some internal bleeding." Sandy's hand went towards his mouth.

"She will have to go back in surgery for her leg, back, and collarbone, she was found to have a badly broken leg, some cracked ribs, a very nasty looking collarbone, and something wrong with her back, not to mention the internal mess and the major laceration on her forehead which caused her to have to have a blood transfusion. She must be bruised on every bone in her body." It was all too much for Sandy to take in at one time. He gulped and looked at the officer, then at the door. His kids and their friend Marissa ran in.

Sandy rushed to greet them and was greeted by a large hug from Seth and another from Ryan.

"What's wrong with her?" Seth asked longingly.

"Internal bleeding, nearly collapsed lung, badly broken leg, badly broken collarbone, some cracked ribs, back problems, a huge gash on her head and bruises all over, she's in surgery for a blood transfusion and to stop her internal bleeding." Seth looked at Ryan whose jaw was at his feet. That's where Caleb comes in.

"How is she Sandy?" he asked, not bothering to yell or call him Sanford.

"Not good," he replied, noticing Julie coming towards him, "Let's just all sit and wait for what is next."

"I am now allowing guests to see her," her Doctor came up to greet the family later that night, "I'm Doctor Christopher and I am Kirsten's doctor. I only want her immediate family, or the people that she lives with, to go and see her." Caleb and Julie sat down in their seats with Marissa and Summer, who had joined the group after school, realizing that she needed her family, "She isn't awake, she is in a morphine induced coma because when she wakes up she will be in more pain than she has ever probably experienced. She's a miracle." Sandy put his arms around his boys and started towards her room, following the doctor.  
She was hooked up to an IV and other wires hung around her. She had been put under the covers and her arm was in a sling and there was a bandage on her head. Under the covers he was sure there was more. He couldn't believe what his wife looked like. He took a seat next to her bed on her good side and took her hand in his and kissed it.

"Has her surgeries ended for now?" Sandy asked the doctor.

"Yes," he answered, "we have taken her out of the coma, but it might be a while before she wakes up. Now I have to go check on my other patients, I'll leave you three be."

"Oh God," Seth looked at his mother, who looked beautiful no matter what was wrong with her.

"See those two IVs?" Ryan pointed at the two bags, "One keeps her hydrated and one is dripping morphine little by little." Sandy and Seth both looked at him as if he was crazy.

"How would you know?" Seth asked.

"Oh…" he blushed, "No reason."

"Ryan," Sandy used his stern tone of voice, "We are your family, and you can tell us."

Ryan gulped, "Well when I was 10 years old, a was beat up by one of my brothers enemies beat me up to make my brother mad and I broke my arm in a bunch of different places because I fell weird and I had those two IVs and I learned about them and stuff." He looked at the ground, not wanting to see Seth and Sandy's reactions.

"Ouch," Seth touched his own arm thinking of Ryan's pain. He was glad to get his mind off his mom who looked dead, even though she was breathing with help from a machine. Seth took a seat in a chair and decided to doze off. Ryan followed his lead.

**A/N: Kirsten wakes up in the next chapter and she sees everyone including the people in the waiting room...COMMENT PLEASE **


	3. Caleb is a loser

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize…I don't own… **

**A/N: so I JUST finished the second chapter, I don't know if I'll like stick with the story so I am doing a lot today and stuff and also putting OC posters around my room and listening to random music on the radio! ­­­­­­**

It had been two days, and he hadn't been able to talk to his wife. He really wanted to know how she was doing.

"Mmmmmmpphhhhh," the first noise he had heard from her came, and Seth and Ryan looked up.

"Kirsten?" Sandy asked gently.

"It hurts," she moaned, barely making out the words.

"Shh…I know don't move."

"Wh…wh…a…wrong?"

"You were in an accident, stay in that position." He hit the call nurse button so that someone in the hospital would know that she needed assistance. She tried to open her eyes but the florescent lights got in the way.

"Sa..sa…ndy?" she groaned, " Sandy?" Her voice was becoming more understandable.

"I know babe, it will all be OK," he assured her, kissing her on the cheek. Doctor Johnson walked in the door.

"Well look who's awake!" he sounded joyful, "How do you feel? How is the morphine working?"

"I'm in excruciating pain and my whole insides are heavy," she was getting used to talking again. Ryan decided to go tell the crew who had returned to the ICU waiting room that day that the patient had awoken.

"Hey guys!" Ryan came out to Marissa, Julie, Caleb, and Summer.

"You sound too joyful," Julie mused.

"She woke up!" he told them with a smile on his face. The whole group looked up at him and then to each other. They all smiled.

"But I mean it doesn't really put her out of trouble," Ryan reminded them as they sat back in their chairs, "They say you guys can visit soon." Ryan walked back towards the room to find Kirsten crying with Seth and Sandy comforting her.

"What's going on?" Ryan whispered to Seth.

"I'm fine Ryan, I mean it's just that it's going to be a long road," Kirsten heard him talking to Seth and turned her head to him. Ryan walked over to the side of her bed and grabbed her hand.  
"We'll be fine," he told her, "You'll be fine, happy, and back to normal." He really hoped that he wasn't lying, though chances said he was. The tears reduced to a few sniffles of her nose before she lay back down.

"Can I see the others?" she asked, looking over at Ryan and Seth, "Could you go get them?"

"Sure," Seth said slipping out in the hall, he was soon back with Caleb, Julie, Marissa and Summer.

"Wish I had known the gruesome twosome were here," she muttered under her breath. Sandy heard her and snickered.

"Kiki," Caleb nodded, "You went to wrong way to work I guess." He kissed his daughter on the forehead.

"Hey Kiks!" Julie gave her a small hug and backed up.

"Kirsten!" Summer smiled, Kirsten was like her own personal mother that never bothered her and would always be there for her.

"Hey Mrs. Cohen," Marissa walked over from the door.

"Hey guys!" she tried to sound enthusiastic but it sounded pretty lame.

"Kiki," Caleb used his business voice, "Yesterday the customer for the Beach Resort came by and I was wondering if you could do a conference call tomorrow." The whole group turned around and stared at him.

"Are you crazy?" Sandy asked him, "She can barely move."

"A conference call takes a voice and ears and a brain," Caleb informed him, "Also I am going to make sure that you are back at work in the next week." Kirsten couldn't believe the fire that was raging in her stomach from his comments.

"You can leave now," she told him. Sandy glared at him.

"Kiki, it is for the good of the company," he explained.

"The good of the company comes before the only daughter that you still talk to?" she asked him, Fine, and then you are definitely invited to leave. NOW!" She looked over at her father and closed her eyes; she had never really felt care from him. Caleb didn't budge.

"I'm going to go call my dad," Marissa told the group, walking into the hall. She thought that he could maybe provide Kirsten some sanity.

"Kirsten, I'm just trying to protect the company," he tried to explain.

"I think they would understand if you said that the person they are supposed to be talking to is in the ICU, look on a local news website and see her car, and then tell them that you have representatives that would love to talk to them," she panted, even the shortest speech hurt her.

"Fine Kiki," he looked at her and headed towards the door, "I expect you back…soon…"

"I'm sorry about him," Julie came and sat on the end of Kirsten's bed.

"He never has cared," she looked at Julie, "Well at least since my mom died."

Marissa walked back in the room with her phone in her hand, "I talked to my dad."

"What did he say?" Julie asked, you could tell she wanted to know by the look on her face.

"He wants to come see you and is looking for the next flight," Marissa explained, "He was also going to call Hailey and tell her."

"This all isn't necessary…I mean I'm only in the…" she paused, "ICU."

"Yeah but you did scare everyone," Marissa explained, "I mean the Rover is DEAD." Summer finally giggled from the corner. She had been hiding.

"Well I'm going to go," Julie told Kirsten, "I'll be back tomorrow and don't worry, I'll handle the deals."

"I'm going to go with my mom," Marissa looked at her mom; she wanted to present a unified front around Kirsten. As the two left, Seth, Ryan, and Sandy went to get coffee and Summer walked closer to Kirsten.

"So…" Summer didn't really know what to say, "You gave me a huge scare. I mean you aren't my mom…but in some ways you are." Kirsten grinned she loved Summer.

"I love you like my own, I mean I probably will be your mother-in-law someday," Kirsten joked and smiled at Summer, she forgot about the pain in her body for those couple of minutes.

" Sandy!" Kirsten cried in the middle of the night, "IT HURTS." Sandy popped up from his sleeping position.

"Breathe," he told her.

"It hasn't ever hurt this bad," she moaned.

"Where does it hurt?"

Silence.

"Kirsten?"

Silence.

"KIRSTEN!" he cried, "Seth!"

"What?"

"Get a doctor NOW." Seth ran down the hall, only to find Doctor Johnson.

"Something's wrong with my mom," he cried. Before he had time to react the doctor was halfway down the hall.

**A/N: Don't fret…it will be better and I wont kill her because I love her too much! **


	4. Mommies

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize…I don't own… **

**A/N: Don't have muuuuuch to say right now so read and COMMENT **

Sandy sat in her empty hospital room shivering. She was in surgery. Emergency surgery never meant anything good. She had been gone for four hours and the boys were asleep in the corner, trying to get the horrible images of their mother, whose stitches had been pulled out for surgery, bleeding and moaning on a gurney.

Suddenly the door opened and two men set Kirsten on her bed. She looked better but was hooked up to two IVs and another machine that Sandy did not have any clue about.

"The doctor will be in to talk to you soon, sir," the men told him leaving the room.

"That gave you a scare didn't it?" Doctor Johnson walked into the room, startling Sandy.

"When do you think she will be discharged?" he asked.

"Hmmm…" he thought, "Probably in about two weeks, and about the surgery, her lung did something, but I think she will recover nicely."

"Thanks," Sandy nodded, "I hope she is OK."

A week later came a knock at the hospital door. Summer walked into the room with tears in her eyes.

"Can I talk to Kirsten alone?" she asked.

"Sure," Sandy, who was the only visitor, left the room.

"Hey sweetie," Kirsten patted her hand on the right side of the bed, motioning for Summer to sit down, "Are you alright?"

"I…I…I just found out that my mom…who I haven't seen for a really long time, since I was like five, died because she had cancer and my dad didn't…he didn't want me to go see her because…because…he doesn't want me to see her…he wants…he wants me all to…to…himself…and he's always hated…hated…me," Summer was in tears now.

"Oh sweetie," Kirsten gave her a hug.

"I…I lost her and now…I almost lost…the only real mother I know," Summer looked at Kirsten, "My dad hasn't been very nice to me lately…he…well…once…only once…he hit me."

"Oh God Summer, did you tell your stepmother, does he do it to her too, did it leave a mark?" Kirsten suddenly went into super mom mode.

"Nope but it…it got his message through…I…I don't miss my mom its…it's…just that I know that all of the letdowns now…there is no way to solve them," Summer cried into Kirsten, making sure not to get near any of her injuries. Kirsten had also lost her mom to cancer, and she knew how it felt.

"You know, I lost my mom to cancer when Seth was about two or three," Kirsten continued to stroke Summer's hair.

"You did?" she looked at Kirsten with a puzzled expression.

"I loved her so much, so did Hailey. She was my world. When I was a little girl, every morning she would tie a ribbon in my hair, kiss me on the cheek, and recite this short poem for me. Sometimes she would take me to the park at night when I didn't want to go to bed and push me on the swings and sing little songs to me. She started taking me shopping when I was old enough to go and got me to the point where I was a lead debutante," Kirsten had her own tears coming to her eyes now, "She was the best mom ever."

"I don't think that could be true," Summer smiled, "Unless you and her are the exact same person." Kirsten had never heard such a nice comment.

"Thanks Summer," she smiled, "I'm scared right now too, it's going to be such a long, hard road to recovery. Not to mention painful, but at least I have good friends." Summer cuddled up next to Kirsten, the only real mom she knew. Tears dripped out of the eyes of both girls.

She left the conversation at that, sitting with Summer for hours.

A knock on the door woke the two up as they both sat up to Jimmy and Hailey at the door.

"Oh my Gosh!" she cried, "Hey you two!" Hailey looked great with a genuine tan and a wonderful taste in fashion. Jimmy looked adorable with his new Hawaiian look and gruff mustache. Summer sat up from the edge of the bed with a tear stained face. She noticed Marissa and ran towards her as the adults began catching up.

"What's wrong?" Marissa noticed the pain on her best friends face.

"My mom died," Summer looked at her, "even though I haven't seen her in like forever, I still miss her, because now I know there is no chance for a relationship." Marissa hugged her best friend tight, secretly telling herself never to let go to her.

"I'm so sorry C," Marissa told her about an hour later.

"Haha," she let a giggle slip out of the sniffle, "I'm going to bunk at the Cohen's for a little while."

"Well you know where I live if you ever need anything," Marissa reassured her. Suddenly Summer noticed Seth and Ryan walking towards them. Seth noticed the tears in his girlfriend's eyes.

"Cohen, I need to talk to you," she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the corner.

"What's up?" he asked, looking concerned.

"My mom," she looked up at Cohen, "Despite the fact I haven't seen her in like, 10 years or so, she had cancer, I didn't know, it killed her." Seth didn't know what to do. He had almost lost his mom and now his girlfriend has.

"I'm so sorry Sum," he gave her a big hug.

"It's not the fact she's gone, it's the fact I know that now I know there is no chance of getting to know her," she explained, "Or getting away from my dad." Seth grabbed her by the waist and began making out with his girlfriend, who returned the gesture.

"Maybe we should go over there," Marissa pointed to a bench down the hall.

"Ok," Ryan smiled at her, he really wanted to ask her out but he had no clue how to.

"So," she asked him, "When does Kirsten get out of the hospital?"

"Well she seems to be doing really well," Ryan explained, "So I'm guessing like a week or two?"

"That's good," she told him, scooting closer, "So what is our relationship?" He couldn't believe that she had the ability to be so blunt about it.

"I don't know," he responded, suddenly getting the urge to be sexy, "Whatever you want it to be." Marissa started laughing, grabbing him around the waist. It reminded her of the first comment he had ever made to her.

"This is what I really want," she suddenly put her lips onto his and the two began making out on a bench in the hospital. Ryan couldn't stop smiling.

"You read my mind," he told her in between kisses. Summer was walking down the hall at this time and noticed the two lip locked.

"RyRissa is BACK!" she ran towards Seth, "Look down the hall." The two looked at each other and smiled. Summer had completely forgotten about the screw ups in her life.

**A/N: I hope you found that to be an interesting twist? I'll do the next chapter right now I guess…I don't have anything else to do for now…what's better than music and just sitting around…NOTHING! **


	5. Welcome Back

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize…I don't own… **

**A/N: Don't have muuuuuch to say right now so read and COMMENT! **

"I can't believe I'm going home today!" Kirsten smiled, sitting up in the bed. It was two weeks since she found out about Summer's mother, and so she promised herself to provide Summer with a lot of motherly love. She looked like a robot with her huge brace on her leg, a back brace, a bandage on her head, a sling and a weird arm contraption.

"I know!" Sandy smiled at her, "The boys are excited too." Doctor Johnson walked into the room.

"You are all clear Kirsten, but we'll be seeing a lot more of you before you can walk. Having a metal inside of your leg will be different," he explained, "But you can go when you wish." Sandy helped his wife into the wheelchair and towards the door. Kirsten looked at the BMW and flinched. She was deathly afraid of cars now.

"You OK?" he asked her, looking at her pale face.

"It's a car," she looked at it a couple of times and shuttered.

"Oooohh..." he kissed her, "I won't go too fast and I'll be super careful."

"Thanks," she sat as he lifted her into the car. She was so uncomfortable in all the metal and was also in pain. The couple started driving down the road in silence, Kirsten trembled in fear, but relaxed as the BMW pulled into the driveway. She was so glad to be home. Sandy wheeled his wife up the driveway and lifted the wheelchair up the stairs. She blushed, she felt so useless. As the front door opened she noticed all the people she cared about: Ryan, Seth, Summer, Marissa, Hailey, Jimmy, and Julie sitting in the living room.  
"Hey guys!" she noticed a welcome home banner, handmade in pretty block letters, "Who made the banner?"

"Me…" Seth answered.

"And I'm the Queen of China," Summer replied.

"Actually it's the Queen of England," Seth joked.

"Marissa and I," Summer responded, "Oh yeah, and Kirsten, I've kind of been like sleeping here every night." Kirsten wasn't very surprised at this and showed it on her face.

"That's kind of what I was assuming," she answered, "Does your dad know?"

"He thinks I'm at Coop's," she responded, taking reign of the wheelchair.

"Ahh," she replied.

"So where do you want to go?" Summer asked Kirsten.

"Hmm…I want to go take a shower, so I guess that's sort of Sandy's…place," Kirsten and Summer laughed and exchanged hugs. Ryan and Seth looked over at each other, was it good when the girlfriend and the mom became best friends? The group in the den returned to their crazy B.S. game when Sandy came back to sit down and join them.

"How is she?" Hailey asked, "I mean she was always really sensitive when we were little."

"She's OK," he responded, "When we got in the car she freaked."

"My friend Kasey was in an accident in high-school and she didn't get hurt but she walked or rode her bike to school for ages," Hailey told the group.

"She's an awesome person," Summer grinned, "She'll get over it." Hailey smiled at Summer. There was something about the girl that made her smile.

"So Mr. Cooper," Ryan started.

"Jimmy," he corrected him.

"Jimmy," Ryan smiled, "How's Hawaii?"

"It's great," he had a huge grin, "But I've really missed all my friends here. I mean I have friends, no romance involved, but someday I might move back here, I mean, my life is here."

"Yeah and sometimes it's hard to live with Julie Cooper-Nichol," Marissa joked, it was true, but she was actually starting to get along with her mom.

"Hah. You'll regret this when I'm old and dead," Julie laughed.

"I would. I mean I don't exactly have a mother," Summer piped in.

"Yeah you kind of do," Sandy told her, "Kirsten loves you a lot Summer."

"I do too," Seth wrapped her into a bear hug. She kissed him back.

The group sat around for a little longer, when Sandy went to get Kirsten. She hopped out of the wheelchair and onto the couch, stretching out the long way.

"How was your shower?" Hailey asked.

"Refreshing," she responded, curling up, "and frankly, I could go for some real food right now."

"That sounds really good!" Seth jumped up, "Chinese? Italian? French?"

"Chinese," Summer and Kirsten replied at the same time, looking at each other and laughing.

"OH YEAH!" Seth cried, "I have an announcement, I was waiting for mom."

"Spill it," Ryan had no clue what this was about.

"Ryan and Marissa are together once again!" Everyone looked over at the two, noticing that they were cuddled together.

"That's great!" Julie smiled; she was growing fonder of Ryan as he started to turn into a classy guy.

"It is?" Marissa looked at her mom with a puzzled look on her face.

"Of course, kiddo," Marissa was reassured by her father's old pet name that he always used.

"Julie," Kirsten's voice was more serious, "What is Caleb doing?"

"He's moping," she explained, "Trying to get all your work straightened out, being a bitch."

"My work?" she asked, aggravated, "He's always been the same, conceited person."

"He's Caleb."

"He's my arrogant father, who mopes around because he almost lost me!"

"He didn't want to lose 2 of the 3 most important people in his life, he was scared." The group sat in silence, Kirsten didn't want to get worked up. She was already more upset about the Summer situation.

Kirsten grabbed her container of beef and broccoli and began munching, and of course she couldn't really use the chop sticks.

"So 'Rissa and I are going to go home," Julie grabbed her purse from the coffee table, "Thanks for dinner! Feel better Kiki, I'll stop by during or after work tomorrow to talk to you."

"Bye!" she waved to the two.

"Bye Coop," Summer waved, Marissa couldn't help notice something different about her.

"Bye Marissa!" Ryan grinned, standing up to walk her out the door.

"Jimmy, Hailey, do you guys want to share the pool house and Ryan can bunk with Seth and Summer can take the one unoccupied guest room?" Kirsten wanted to be sort of near Summer.

"Sure sounds great," the two took off towards the pool house, where they had actually been sleeping.

"Thanks for all of this Kirsten," Summer looked at her boyfriend's mother, "Also, can I talk to you?"

"Sure sweetie, how about I come over to your room?" she asked, "I think I can venture that far by myself in the wheelchair."

"OK, that's cool," Summer looked at her and couldn't help smiling.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Kirsten asked, Summer looked really upset, even though she wasn't crying.

"I went…I went home to get some stuff…" Summer started, "My dad was…he was…drunk…and he….well he…she lifted her shirt to expose a large bruise, she grabbed some water and rubbed the foundation off her face to expose a black eye.

"Oh my God Summer!" Kirsten's face went into shock. She used to be friends with Dr. Roberts, and he had always seemed like a pretty good guy.

"It was aw…awful, I…I said I was…leaving," tears starting gathering in my eyes, "and he…he said never…never to come back." Kirsten couldn't believe someone would act like this to a child.

"You're too young to have to experience this Summer," Kirsten slid out of her wheelchair and onto the bed that Summer was positioned on, "How has school been?"

"Tough. Seeing all these happy people that I used to be able to relate to," she explained, "and then when I thought I lost you…I couldn't…it was too hard." Summer gently placed her head in Kirsten's lap, hoping it didn't affect any of her injuries.

"Wow," Kirsten stroked her hair, "You are one strong girl." The two sat in each other's arms, just enjoying each other's presence and hopefully making each other feel better.

"Damn it the painkillers are definitely starting to wear off," Kirsten noted as Summer sat up and watched as Kirsten positioned herself in the wheelchair, "At least I only have the sling for another two weeks."

"Yeah, and you already have your stitches out," Summer smiled, she was glad Kirsten was getting better.

"In about two weeks I also start physical therapy for my leg and back!" she sounded excited.

"That's awesome!" Summer was so happy for her.

"Good night Summer, I'm not going to let your dad get away with this," Kirsten leaned forward to give her a hug, "and I LOVE you Summer, don't forget that."

"I love you too," Summer hugged Kirsten back, "Have a good night, your first night home!" Summer watched as Kirsten started down the hall. She fell back into her pillow and began to sob.

"Morning sweetie," Sandy kissed his wife on the cheek.

"I need to talk to you," she slowly sat up groaning.

"What about?" he asked, noting the concern in her voice.

"Summer," she replied, "I think she needs legal advice."

"What about?" he asked again.

"Her dad beats her," Kirsten replied, expecting him to yell, his face only dropped.

**A/N: Next up: Physical Therapy, Summer and ** **Sandy**** talk, ** **Sandy**** talks to Seth, Some Ryan and Marissa(?), Kirsten and Caleb, Girls going shopping (not all in one chapter!) **

**COMMENT A ** **LOT**

**Special thanks to ** **Kursk**** for super positive reviews! **


	6. Broken Hearts

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize…I don't own…**

**A/N: Don't have muuuuuch to say right now so read and COMMENT!**

Kirsten sat at the kitchen table while Sandy began making bacon and eggs with Ryan. They decided to make breakfast while half the world was staying in their house.

"Morning," Summer quietly walked into the room, "How is everyone?"

"Hey Summer!" Kirsten smiled at the girl, who she could tell was wearing a lot of foundation.

"Kirsten!" Summer walked over to sit next to Kirsten, I mean, she was her angel.

"Summer," Sandy looked over at Summer, I was wondering if I could snag you out of school today during your lunch and take you for lunch and get you back to school when we are done?" he asked, Summer looked at Kirsten, who had an apologetic look on her face.

"Lunch is at 12:30," she looked at Sandy, "Sounds great."

Ryan noticed Seth stumble down the stairs, looking goofy as usual. Summer put on her happy face and turned towards her boyfriend.

"Cohen!" she greeted him, running over to give him a hug.

"Hey babe," he returned the hug.

"Don't call me 'babe' please," she pushed away, laughing.

"Hey mom," he walked over and took a seat at the table, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Good enough to have a Newpsie meeting," she raised her eyebrows, "Julie insisted that it would stop any rumors.

"God, your STILL a Newpsie?" Seth rolled his eyes.

"Who wants eggs?" Sandy put the plate on the table, "The youth of this household need to hurry up and eat and go to school." The group dove in and Jimmy and Hailey joined in.

"So Kirsten…" Hailey started, "I rented the Golden Girls DVDs for us today."

"That sounds great Hail," she smiled, "I love the Golden Girls."

"Oh my God me too!" Summer smiled, "Especially Rose!"

"Me too," Hailey grinned, "When you get home, you can join us."

"Well then I can't wait!" Summer was such a sweet girl.

"Mom can we borrow…" Seth stopped himself; he forgot there was no Range Rover, "Sorry never mind."

"You were going to say Range Rover," she raised her eyebrows at him, "Don't think that's possible." Seth was glad that Kirsten was able to smile at him about the situation.

"Bye mom, I love you," Seth kissed his mom.

"Bye Kirsten," Summer hugged her.  
"Bye Kirsten," Ryan kissed her on the cheek.

Summer signed out at the office and walked towards the parking lot where the BMW was waiting for her.

"Hey Sandy," she looked at him weakly.

"Hey Summer," he gave her a sympathetic look, "Let's go to the Crab Shack." Summer only nodded, she didn't care, and she just wanted Sandy to hear her out.

"So this is all about your father and his…situation with you," Sandy told her.

"He…I…I hate…I hate him…" Summer stuttered.

"How often does he hit you," he asked.

"In the past year pretty often, otherwise it would be randomly," she explained.

"Well I don't want you to have to go up for adoption," he made a face.

"But I'm 18!" she told him.

"Ohhhhh you are?" he figured it all out.

"Yep, so I'm legal, and I want to file for a restraining order," she sounded more confident.

"Well I'll see what I can do," he looked at her, she looked like she was losing weight, and she didn't look like the usual Summer, "But I'm concerned about you Summer, you don't look happy."

"I'm lost," she frowned, "It sucks. I mean I have a cool…or…nice boyfriend and a good group of friends but I don't remember what happiness is, my family has always been a mess," she explained.

"Well your Cohen family is always here for you," he smiled, patting the girl on the back, "and Kirsten is so fond of you and so am I."

"Thanks, that makes me feel better, not kidding," she smiled, giving Sandy a hug, "and I don't want to be late for study hall!" The two drove back to the school in silence.

After school Seth went home to find his dad at the kitchen table.

"Seth I need to talk to you," he told him.

"If it's about that shirt, I can explain," he laughed nervously.

"What shirt?" he asked.

"Oh never mind, what did you need?"

"Summer is really upset."

"About what?"

"I found out today that in the past year her father has been…well…beating her…"

"No! Oh my God dad, I'm not the kind of boyfriend for this, oh my God!"

"Don't worry Seth, you can handle it."

"No dad, that's where you are wrong, I can barely handle Summer as she is, let alone her living here and having issues I have to help solve!"

"Just be supportive, she'll need arms to cry into."

"That I think I can handle!"  
The door opened and the unmistakable sound of Summer's clicking heels filled the home.

"Hello?" she called.

"Hey!" Kirsten was watching Golden Girls with Hailey in the den.

"We'll discuss it more later if you want," Sandy told Seth, walking towards the den.

"So how was your day?" Kirsten patted down the couch next to her, signifying her to sit down next to her.

"Boring," Summer sat down, "How was yours?"

"The Golden Girls can ALWAYS put a smile on my face," she grinned, "and yours too." Summer looked at Kirsten and smiled, relaxing in front of the television set. Kirsten put her arm around Summer and they focused on the TV. Seth watched from the doorway, rolling his eyes. How was he supposed to put up with a girlfriend like this? Seth walked out of the room and up to his room. How was he supposed to break up with this already broken girl? She was more like a sister than a girlfriend. He couldn't believe that he was actually losing interest in SUMMER.

"Hey Summer?" he asked, "Do you want to go out to dinner?"

"Sure!" she smiled, "I'll get dress in a couple of minutes."

"'Kay," he answered, hating how happy she looked. Was he really going to break up with her because he thought that he was a bad boyfriend? He felt like a criminal.

"I'm going to change," he told the group of ladies focused on the television.

""Kay," his mom told him, laughing at a joke that one of the old ladies had made. His mom looked like a robot, but he knew that soon she would get the sling off and be able to use crutches and drive; if she had the guts to.

"I'm going to change too," she gave Kirsten a hug.

"OK sweetie," Kirsten rubbed her back, "I'll see you when you two get back."

"Kay," Seth told her, walking towards the stairs.

Summer and Seth munched on the crab cake appetizer at The Arches while Seth sat nervously.

"So I really needed to talk to you about something…" Seth began.

"What?" she asked.

"Well…my dad talked to me…about…you…and I've decided that I can't handle your problems. Also, you are…well…more like…well kind of like…a sister…so I don't…yeah I don't think we should…see each other…anymore," he managed to get the words out.

"You're breaking up with me?" she asked, sadness in her eyes.

"Well…"

"Fuck you." She got up to run out of the restaurant, "All I needed was someone to be there for me and tell me I was beautiful and to hold me, not a therapist! Cohen, you're an ass." It had begun to rain outside. She couldn't believe Cohen, she wasn't mad, just let down; AGAIN. He used to gush over her and tell her how awesome and beautiful she was; obviously he was just there for the easy stuff. Summer ran down the street until she came near the pier. She sat down on a bench in the pouring rain and felt tears trickled down her face.

"Mom?" Seth walked in the door, "Before you yell at me…where did Summer go?" He had realized that he had made a mistake, and he wanted it fixed.

"Summer isn't home yet…" she looked at him, "What did you do?"

"Well…I…I mean…OK fine, I broke up with her," Seth flinched as if he was expecting a shoe to fly in his face.

"Oh my God Seth," she scooted onto her wheelchair and headed towards the pool house.

"Ryan!" she yelled into the room, "Are you in there?"

"Yeah, what's up?" he asked, opening the door.

"I need you to drive me somewhere, NOW!" she sounded upset.

"What's wrong?"

"Seth dumped Summer and she has a lot of family issues going on right now and…I love that kid so much…I need to find her and it's raining…"

"Let me get my jacket."

The two drove in silence, checking any spot that she may be. They finally noticed a small figure hunched over with her arms around her knees, becoming drenched on a bench near the ocean.

"Let me talk to her alone…" Kirsten told Ryan.

"I'll at least help you out of the car," he suggested. As Kirsten made her way over to Summer, she shuttered.

"Hey sweetie," Kirsten slid on the bench next to her, "I'm so sorry, really, I can't believe him." Summer immediately put her head in Kirsten's hurt chest and began sobbing.

"I…I…why would he…I thought…he was….we were…." She choked.

"Shhh…it will be OK," Kirsten rubbed her wet hair, "I don't think he meant it. Let's go home." Summer pushed Kirsten back to the car and grabbed the towel that Kirsten had brought for her. Summer slid into the backseat and sat quietly. Her eyes were red and puffy and she sniffled because of the cold she was likely to catch.

Ryan, Kirsten, and Summer entered the house while Seth waited on the couch.

"Seth. Kitchen. Now." Kirsten sputtered, telling Ryan to take Summer upstairs.

"What mom?" he asked.

"Why the HELL would you do that?" she was acting completely out of character.

"Gee…I don't know…maybe because you spend all your time with her and never me and I never spend time with her and I was scared because I can't handle someone who is becoming so fragile and I love her so much and I was scared that she was like a toy and I'd lose her if I became too attached and…"

"Seth, I really don't think this would help your problems. Now you have to figure out a way to make it up."

"I want to make it better, make up with her."

"I'm going to bed, Seth. I'll talk to you about this later. I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow and then I'm meeting Julie Cooper for lunch. I need rest. Don't expect that this is the end of this."

"'Night mom, I love you."

"I love you too."

"Hello Kirsten," the new doctor at the orthopedic center greeted her, "How are you feeling?"

"My collarbone doesn't hurt at all anymore, my leg is always a dull sore with the occasional sharp pain and my back hurts occasionally and sometimes if I take a deep breath my stomach feels really heavy."

"Well let me take x-rays and then we'll talk what's next," he walked over to the machine and began to do the x-rays. About a half an hour later he came back in.

"Surprisingly, your collarbone has healed…it wasn't completely broken. Now, I think your leg and back are at the stage that you can use crutches if you wish," the doctor told her. A grin the size of the Amazon River came across her face and she nodded.

"I would LOVE to use crutches," she told him.

"Good. This also means you are at the point where you can start physical therapy," her face drooped, "You can do it here, why don't you see if you like this schedule."

"Thanks, sounds good," she told him.

"How did you get here?" the doctor asked.

"My son on the way to school, my husband is picking me up," she explained.

"Well I bet they will be happy, I'll take your wheelchair out to the car for you and you can try out your new crutches!" she smiled and thanked the doctor. Sandy was sitting in the front of…a new Range Rover…

"Oh my God Sandy!" she hobbled over to the new 2005 edition of her old car that was now sitting in a junkyard somewhere.

"That's what I should be saying!" he grinned, "crutches?"

"Yep," she smiled proudly, "My collarbone is all better!" Sandy loved the grin that was tattooed on her face.

"Can you drop me off at the place I am meeting Julie for lunch?"

"Certainly."

Kirsten saw Julie sitting at a table, and maneuvered over to the spot, using her crutches.

"Oh My God, KIKI!" she squealed, standing up to hug her.

"Isn't it great?" she asked, "No sling!"

"So…coffee?" Julie asked her.

"Sure."

"So you still don't look completely happy."

"Well it's about Summer."

"Yeah, Marissa is really worried about her too."

"Yeah, but yesterday Seth broke up with her because he can't handle her issues and she completely fell apart all over me."

"You really love that girl."

"Yeah, she's so sweet; she's the daughter I never had."

"Well for a minute I thought she was on her way to being your daughter-in-law."

"Me too. But now she's just kind of depressed and stuff, and I feel so bad for her."

"Just continue loving her like your own."

"But I want her and Seth to get back together."

"So what? If he can't respect the love in between you two, then maybe he shouldn't be with her."

"Yeah. How's my dad?"

"Moping, workaholic, annoying, sexually aggravated, I won't give it to him."

"Haha. Tell him to stop by sometime and talk to me, I have some things to tell him."

"Will do. So I know we've sort of approached the subject, but, how are you in general?"

"In general…let's see…I guess kind of achy, bored stiff, and going back to work next week."

"Yay! Kiki that's great…well not the achy part but…my business partner is back in the running!"

"How about you don't tell Caleb to stop by and I just show up at work and you can make sure my office is ready to be used!"

"That sounds like a plan."

"Can you give me a ride home?" The ladies sat in silence on the ride home. All the necessary topics had been covered and the two were enjoying the company of someone who could understand them.

"Hey Summer," Kirsten confronted the broken girl as she slipped in the front door after school.

"Hey," she sighed weakly.

"How was school?" she asked.

"He tried to apologize."

"What did you do?"

"I ignored him."

"He really hurt you, huh?"

"Yeah." Summer joined Kirsten on the couch, noticing a set of crutches, "CRUTCHES! YAY!"

"Yep!" The two laughed, and continued the Golden Girls marathon from the day before.

**A/N: COMMENT PLEASE! Thanks **


	7. Bad Day

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize…I don't own…**

**A/N: Don't have muuuuuch to say right now so read and COMMENT!**

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"So…are we on for shopping today?" Kirsten asked Summer as she walked into the kitchen.

"Sure," Summer smiled at Kirsten, how could she deny Kirsten anything?

"Did you sleep OK?" Kirsten asked, grabbing her crutches and moving towards the kitchen table.

"Not really," Summer shrugged, "What about you?"

"My leg is getting better but when I sleep it still hurts because sometimes Sandy's a kicker," Kirsten grinned at Summer, who looked better than she had a couple days ago.

"Are we going to South Coast Plaza?" Summer asked eagerly.

"Of course we are!" Kirsten placed her hand on Summer as she sat down, "Also I was thinking that you and Seth should talk. I mean you know he still…"

"Morning," Ryan walked in the back door with a wife-beater on and a shiner on his cheek.

"Oh my God Ryan what happened!" Kirsten instinctively leaped up but felt a surge of pain rise through her body and sat back down.

"Actually it's not a shiner, I fell in the room, don't kill yourself trying to help me," he grabbed a bagel, "Where's Seth?"

"Who…" Summer stopped herself from dissing her boy…well her ex-boyfriend.

"I sense the tension in the kitchen," Ryan looked at the two girls, "Um…later." Summer stood, not knowing whether to laugh or frown.

"So why don't we go get dressed and leave?" Kirsten suggested.

"Sure, I'll see you in a couple minutes," Summer smiled, walking towards the guestroom that she was staying in.

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Kirsten and Summer picked through the racks of clothing. They examined each shirt and laughed at some of the ridiculous clothing.

"I've got to go to the bathroom," Kirsten told Summer, "I'll be right back."

"Ok!" Summer was really happy that day and she continued to look through the racks of Prada and Pucci. Suddenly she noticed a male figure next to her looking at women's clothing. It was her dad. She didn't want to talk to him or to ever see him again. She tried to be stealth and head towards the bathroom. BOOM, a shelf of Pucci scarves all flew to the floor, she gulped. Her dad turned around to see his daughter anxiously picking up the scarves.

"You little bitch, where have you been?" he asked, grabbing her shirt up.

"You didn't tell me about mom!" she cried, trying to pull back from her dad.

"Hah. Right. And now you're going to pay you little snot," her dad took a swing at her head. Soon he was slapping, kicking, punching, and pulling her hair. She didn't even bother fighting back. After a strong punch she went flying backwards right into a rack of clothes and knocked it over, causing it to land on her. She was silent. People stood around nervously as he stepped on her. He noticed Kirsten Cohen limping towards the scene and ran. A salesman from the section went tearing after him, calling the security guards.

"What happened over…" Kirsten started, "SUMMER!" Kirsten panicked. The sweet, young girl she had become accustomed of having in the house was unconscious on the ground.

"SUMMER!" she sobbed, reaching to the girl, she noticed the paramedics coming in the door. Her leg was throbbing because of her sudden leap to the ground and she stood up, embarrassed. She watched as the paramedics hauled the girl away and the police came on the scene. Her hands reached up to her face as a police officer confronted her.

"Do you know what happened here?" he asked.

"I have no clue…that's why I'm worried," she told the officer, "Where is she going?"

"The hospital, witnesses claim that a man turned around and she started talking to him but then he started to hit her," the police told her, "I just wanted to hear your side of the story but you do not have one."

"I…she…" Kirsten looked defeated; her crutches dug into her armpits as she bit her lip.

"Are you related to her?" the policeman asked.

"Well, her father was sort of abusive, so my family, one of her good friends, invited her to stay at our house, and she said that she wanted to," Kirsten explained as a light-bulb clicked on in her head. Summer's dad was the abuser. It made Kirsten fume, hot tears came to her eyes, and she didn't know what had come over her.

"Would you like a ride to the hospital?" the officer asked her.

"That would be great," she told him, hobbling towards the door with him. The two were silent as Kirsten tried to control her emotions. Everything seemed to be going wrong for her these days.

"So…your leg…do you mind me asking?" the police officer seemed out of character; he was friendly.

"Ah, I was in a wreck, I was a miracle, all this internal junk went wrong, screwed up my leg and arm and all," she explained.

"Wait!" he looked at her, "Were you the lady in the Range Rover who was banged up by that kid in the Expedition?"

"Haha. Yes, that was me," she told him.

"I remember hearing about that one, that one was pretty gruesome," he focused his eyes on a certain point on the road and continued to the hospital.

"I need to call my husband," she told the officer, grabbing her phone out of her purse and speed-dialing her husband.

"Sandy?...Not really…Can you get to the hospital…No, not me, Summer…she was beaten…I think it was her father…the mall…I didn't see what happened…I was in the bathroom…I love you too," Kirsten clicked the phone down and noticed the HOAG up ahead. Kirsten went into the E.R as fast as her crutches would allow.

"Hi, my name is Kirsten, I was wondering if you had any information on the patient Summer Roberts," she asked the nice lady.

"Are you in relation to the patient?" the southern lady asked.

"Well, she was in an abusive situation, and she has been living in my family and she is not officially…" she started.

"You're Kirsten…as in our miracle Kirsten?" the nurse looked at her and smiled, lowering her voice, "I'll make an exception just for you because you aren't here for you. She's in Room 253." Kirsten scurried towards the elevator, waving back at the nurse. As she rode up she thought about Summer all alone in that room and how she did not have anyone in her real family that she could run to.

"Doctor Christopher," she greeted him, running to Summer's side.

"Well if it isn't Kirsten Cohen, how are you doing?" he asked her.

"Fine," she shrugged, "Now Summer!"

The girl was awake and aware but she was very distant and looked scared.

"Hey sweetie," Kirsten sat down and stroked the girls hair.

"Hi Kirsten," Summer gave her a little smile.

"What happened to her?" Kirsten questioned.

"Her nose is broken, a lot of bruises, black eye, broken wrist, cuts, and a broken rib," the doctor explained. Kirsten couldn't believe this. She looked at the door as Sandy, Ryan, and Seth came into the room. Summer turned her face so they couldn't see her.

"Can I talk to Summer alone for a minute?" Seth asked.

"Sure," Kirsten motioned to the group to leave the room.

"What Cohen?" Summer looked over at him.  
"I made a HUGE mistake," he started.

"I know you did…"

"I really, really, really, care about you," he explained, "I love you so much, and I didn't really want to let you go but I was scared and…I'm, I'm really sorry."

Summer looked into his eyes, "We'll try it slowly." He walked over and kissed her on the cheek. The rest of the group was invited to return.

"So Summer…how do you feel?" Sandy asked the girl.

"Awful," she admitted, "Embarrassed." Kirsten sat on the edge of her bed again and stroked her hair. No one had ever done that for her before and it felt incredibly good to feel loved again.

"When does she get out?" Sandy looked at the doctor who had returned to the room.

"Tonight or tomorrow morning, soon enough, she'll need a little recovery time, not nearly as much as you, but she'll be out of school for a little while, I'll come back in an hour to check on her," he told them.

"Thanks," she responded, smiling.

"Oh yes and this is about you Kirsten," he started, "Have you gotten a date for your surgery yet?" A large lump formed in her throat.

"Surgery?" she asked, "No…"

"OK, well you've got to have orthopedic surgery, no questions, during your next appointment find out when you will have it and I will make sure that I am your doctor," he waved good-bye. Kirsten shifted in her seat.

"Don't worry Kirsten, surgery is like, no big deal compared to all the other mess you've had to deal with," Summer told her, sitting up in her bed.

"Thanks sweetie," Kirsten sat with her and gave her a hug.

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Summer climbed into the back of the BMW with Kirsten beside her; Seth and Ryan had gone to pick up Summer's car. Summer held her head in shame as she walked through the parking lot with a black eye and a cast on her wrist; it had ended up that her nose was better than they had thought.

"Let's go home and just relax," Kirsten suggested to Sandy and Summer as they pulled out of the parking lot, "I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow to get my date for surgery."

"Haha," Sandy joked, looking at his wife in the rearview mirror.

"Your support makes me feel great," she smiled sweetly at him and put her arm around Summer. Summer looked up at the older woman and smiled.

At home, Summer and Kirsten settled onto the couch, even though it was late. Kirsten got up on her crutches and slid in the Golden Girls DVD once again. Ryan and Seth walked in the front door with Summer's car keys and Seth handed them to his girlfriend. He sat down next to her and pecked her on the cheek. Kirsten looked over and smiled, "So I see you guys made up?"

"Yep," Summer smiled, "I'm glad." She pecked him back. Ryan sat on the floor, leaning back towards the couch and Sandy came in and joined him a couple minutes later. The group was so lucky to have each other.

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**A/N: Next Chapter Kirsten's appointment and surgery…**

**REVIEW PLEAAASE **


	8. Hope

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize…I don't own…**

**A/N: Don't have muuuuuch to say right now so read and COMMENT!**

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Kirsten sat impatiently in the waiting room of the orthopedic office. She was going to find out when she was having surgery and when she would probably be on two feet again. The accident scared her, she would always think of what a "miracle" she was.

"Kirsten Cohen?" an attendant questioned at the front of the office. She stood up on her good leg and hobbled towards the back. The nurse followed her into the room.  
"I need you to remove your brace for me so I can use the x-ray machine," she asked Kirsten. Kirsten pulled at the Velcro, Ace bandage, and different gadgets, she winced as she set her leg out on the stool in front of her.

"I can see it still hurts?" the nurse asked, putting something over her leg.

"All the time," Kirsten replied, afraid to rub her leg too hard. The nurse took her x-rays and left the room.

"The doctor will be in shortly," she was told. Kirsten looked around the room and then down to her leg. She hadn't ever realized how gross it looked, the purple tint, the skinniness, the protruding bone, the scars, and the marks from the brace. She looked at the door as a new doctor, Doctor Lambert, walked in.

"Hello Kirsten, how are you?" he asked, "I'm Doctor Lambert, your orthopedist."

"Hi, I'm OK," she answered.

"So your leg," he started, "The x-rays show me that…it isn't doing so well." She gulped.

"I checked the openings at the hospital and two days from now they have an available slot, meaning that you would go in tomorrow for the day, spend the night, and have your surgery the next day," he told her.

"That would be wonderful," she smiled at him.

"This is one of the worse leg cases I've seen in a while," he told her.

"Yikes," she didn't really know what to reply.

"We'll see you then," he excused her from the office.

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"Hey guys," she looked at Summer and Sandy who were playing Mario Party on the couch.

"Hey Kirsten," they chimed, pausing the game to talk to her.

"Did you decide when your surgery is to be?" Sandy asked.

"Well actually I am going in tomorrow for pre-stuff and then the next day is the operation itself," she explained, sitting down in the armchair in the den.

"Well at least you get it over with," Summer seemed a lot better that day, her bruises had reduced and she used her wrist more and more.

"Yeah, that's the only good part I can think about," Kirsten smiled brightly at the girl.

"Well you're home and I've got to get to work," he ruffled Summer's hair and kissed his wife on the cheek, "Bye ladies. I love you both." The two smiled and waved back.

"So how are you feeling?" Kirsten asked Summer.

"A little bit better," she shrugged, tapping at her hurt wrist.

"That's good," Kirsten smiled, "I'm going to go upstairs for a minute, I'll be back as soon as I get dressed." Summer sat on the couch and began to think about her stay with the Cohen family. She suddenly felt like a burden. They had had to help out with hospital bills, provide food for her, give her a bed, wash her things, and god knows what else. Suddenly she felt bad, her knees wobbled and she ran out to the driveway, screaming.

"WHY? WHY DID YOU DIE MOM? WHY DID YOU LEAVE US? DAD WHY DID YOU HURT ME? ANYONE, TELL ME…" and then the sobs began, she was choking on her words.

Kirsten hobbled back into the living room and couldn't find Summer. She noticed the front door was open.

"Sum…" she began, as she noticed a sobbing Summer in the driveway, "Shh, it's OK," Kirsten got down on the ground next to her, "It'll be alright, don't worry baby."

"I…I feel like an…an inconvenience," Summer began, throwing herself into Kirsten's arms.

"You aren't, you never will be, we love you and are glad you're with us," Kirsten rubbed the girl's head, "I love you Summer." Suddenly Summer didn't feel so bad, her sobs subsided and she looked Kirsten in the eyes.

"You know, I've never had a mother hug me like this, well at least not that I can remember," Summer told her. Kirsten smiled at the brightness on the girls face. Summer helped Kirsten up and the two walked into the house.

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Kirsten sat in the hospital bed, about to be put to sleep. She wasn't looking forward to her surgery, but at least she would begin to get better.

"Have fun," Sandy kissed his wife, "I love you."

"Good luck," Seth looked at his mother, grinning and giving her a hug.

"I love you," Summer gave her a hug, and Kirsten looked at her with the same eyes as she had that day in the driveway.

"Good-night," Ryan hugged her, laughing.

Kirsten began to doze off as the family sat in the chairs that were scattered around her room. Summer jumped up, "Gotta go, she's asleep and I'm going somewhere with Coop, be back in an hour!" The boys watched as Summer ran out of the room.

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"Coop!" Summer cried, watching as Marissa walked down her driveway, "Come on!" Marissa hopped in the car and they started towards South Coast Plaza.

"So first we go to Bloomingdales and then you go to Godiva and get the chocolate and I have something that I want to get her," Summer started, "I was thinking that we get her a pink Hérve Chapelier tote and fill it with all the different chocolates that she loves."

"Wow Sum, slow down," Marissa joked, "What do you have to get her?"

"You'll see," Summer parked her BMW at the Bloomingdales entrance.

"See you in half an hour right here!" Summer called, running towards Build-a-Bear.

She looked at the different options on the wall, she settled for a fluffy teddy bear. She got to the wish station. _I hope Kirsten recovers really well and I hope that my dad leaves me alone. _When Summer finally got to the naming station, she stopped. _Hope. _She typed in on the computer "Hope Roberts Cohen," and finished filling in the form. She looked on the racks of clothes for the bear and pulled out one with a hospital gown and a cute little "Get Well Soon" balloon. Summer smiled as the cashier put the bear in the box. She took off for her car.

"Did you get the stuff Coop?" she asked.  
"Yes I got the $300 tote bag and the $300 worth of chocolate," Marissa joked, hopping in the car. The two drove towards the hospital.

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Summer and Marissa ran into the room to find a dozing Kirsten with her leg up in the air.

"Hey," Summer whispered to Sandy, "Has she woke up yet?"

"Nope," Sandy told her, "But the surgery went really well."

"That's great!" Summer smiled, sitting down in a seat.

Fifteen minutes later two little eyes flickered open.

"Hey babe," Sandy walked over to kiss his wife.

"Hey sweetie," Kirsten looked at him.

"We, as in Summer and I, got you something," Marissa told her, watching her eyes light up like a child on Christmas. Marissa handed her the package. Kirsten peeked inside and smiled.

"Oh my God, it's perfect!" Kirsten admired the tote, realizing it weighed more than a purse, she opened it, "CHOCOLATE!" She grinned and motioned for a hug from Marissa.

"I have something for you, that is just from me," Summer handed her a box, she opened it and her smile went to her ears, "Her name is Hope, I made her."

"Summer, I can't think of a more wonderful gift," she sounded sincere, giving Summer a hug, "Don't forget, I love you."

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**A/N: I want to do a one/two shot that explores Kirsten's drinking problem. REVIEW REVIEW.**

**And OMG like the Showdown anyone? OMG my car accident, except opposite, if the truck was running the red light that's EXACTLY what I pictured, with a Range Rover, WOW I CANNOT wait until Thursday, I have been counting down! **


	9. Can we Talk?

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the OC. **

**A/N: Yay I re-read this story and I missed it! **

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Kirsten sat on the couch watching her sons battle in some Star Wars game. Summer was sitting next to Seth and they playfully argued about something. Kirsten had her leg extended the other way on the couch and leaned onto the arm of the couch. She watched as Summer picked at the cast on her wrist and frowned. Nothing had really been said or done about the events with her dad. Come to think about it Kirsten hadn't really tried to fix the events with her own dad either.

"I've got take-out!" Sandy walked in the door holding a huge bag of food.

"Do you think we have enough for Julie and Marissa?" Kirsten questioned, kissing Sandy on the cheek.

"Plenty, you mentioned earlier that Julie might want to come over since she didn't see you in the hospital or something," Sandy smiled. Just then the doorbell rang. Sandy walked to the door and answered.

"Hey kids, go to the pool-house for a little while, we'll come get you when it's time to eat," Sandy told them, opening the door.

"Dad…" Kirsten started, grabbing her crutches and standing up, "What are you doing here?"

"Can we talk, Kiki? Privately?" he asked, standing far back from his daughter.

"Why? A new development bid?" she asked coldly, giving her father a stare.

" Sandy, will you go in the kitchen?" Caleb asked, trying to be friendly to his son-in-law.

"It's up to Kirsten," he told him.

"Fine, we'll talk, but no one says I'm forgiving you," she stared at him, "Can we sit, my leg is killing me."

"Sorry, I forgot Kiki," he said following her into the den. She sat on the couch and stretched her leg out, taking the brace off and yelling to Sandy,

"Can you bring me ice really quick honey?"

"Sure," he yelled back.

"How is everything? I thought you were supposed to be wearing a back brace?" Caleb questioned.

"I'm in pain because of my leg and my back isn't an issue until I'm up and about," she told him, "Last orthopedic appointment they needed me to have my surgery as soon as possible because my bone was still protruding my skin," she explained.

"I'm sorry I haven't been there for you through all of this," he started, "It's just that I didn't want to see you in pain."

"Explain," she told him as she took the ice bag from Sandy and set it on her knee and watched him leave the room.

"When your mother was diagnosed with cancer, I watched her suffer a great deal. She meant a lot to me just like you and Hailey do now. I don't know exactly what I would do if I lost you and hoping that things could go back to normal made me feel better," she thought she saw a tear in his eye.

"I just don't understand why you never even tried to come see me for over a month! Dad, once you knew that I was going to be OK didn't that make you want to see me. If you love me so much then I'd hope that you would tell me once in a while," she leaned back and shut her eyes, she was pretty sure that she was going to lose this battle.

"Because, oh Kiki, I love you so much but I was afraid, I wanted you to be back to normal again!" he threw his arms in the air in frustration and sat down.

"It isn't like I'm paralyzed or have some weird disease or am mentally screwed! I have a couple broken bones and some machinery – yes but dad, you aren't acting like a dad!" she wanted to stand up in his face in frustration but she didn't have the energy and she wasn't supposed to move if she didn't have her brace on.

"Kiki, I made a mistake and I want your forgiveness," he sat on the edge of the couch and rubbed her leg.

"Oww…" she cried, "Anyways, let's take it slow, but one thing I want is to make sure that I can come back to work."

"Sorry about the leg," he apologized, "Anyhow, you are welcome to come back with no pressure because I screwed up and I'm so sorry sweetie, even though you don't believe me, I love you," he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and headed towards the door.

"Dad," she called out, "I'll see you tomorrow, and I love you too." Caleb grinned and waved, passing Julie on the way out.

"Kiks!" she cried, running up to her friend, "Oh my God, I'm sorry I didn't have time to see you in the hospital while you were having surgery, how are you?" She completely ignored the fact that Caleb was leaving the house.

"I'm fine," she semi-lied to Julie about her pain and her frustration.

"I'll be in the kitchen, see you in a few minutes," Julie exclaimed as Kirsten watch Marissa slowly come in the door.

"Hey Kirsten," she smiled, walking over to see her boyfriend's mother.

"Hey Marissa, how are you?"

"Fine, you?"

"In pain but happy."

" Sandy! How's Kirsten?" Julie asked Sandy in the kitchen.

"She's in a lot of pain but her spirits are high," Sandy told her as Kirsten came into the kitchen.

"Am I really?" Kirsten questioned, laughing and hobbling towards the kitchen table, "I'll go get the boys."

"Don't worry about it, I can grab them," Sandy headed towards the door.

"I want to get them," she stopped him, "Get some exercise." She hobbled out the backdoor.

"Hey guys," she walked into the pool-house, "It's dinnertime."

"Thanks," they replied, following her out the door. Summer walked next to Kirsten as Seth and Ryan headed towards the kitchen.

"So I noticed your dad came by," Summer knew that she could talk to Kirsten about these things.

"Yeah, and we made up," she smiled, "I know that you and your dad could never actually make up because the problems with you and your dad and far greater, but I think that we need to do something."  
"I totally agree, but I don't really know what, I know that I want to go get some of my older clothes though," Summer told Kirsten.

"How about we go after dinner to your house, see if your dad is home, if he isn't we can get some of your stuff, if he is it's your call," Kirsten suggested, slowly stepping up the step into the house.

"That sounds good," Summer smiled at Kirsten, "Thanks."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx **

Summer sat in the front seat next to Sandy as Kirsten stretched her leg out in the back. They were about to go over to her house to get her stuff so she could feel more at home.

"Are you going to be OK?" Kirsten leaned up and asked the girl.

"Of course," she responded, sort of lying.

"You'll be great kid," Sandy looked over at her and put his hand on her knee.

"Both hands on the wheel Sandy," Kirsten scolded him as he turned around to smile at her, "PAY ATTENTION!"

"Kirsten, we'll be OK," he reassured her, listening to her sigh.

"Sorry, I still hate the whole riding in the car thing," she looked up towards the front, "Put on some music, not too loud, not like Seth's music, but some Bob Sager or Sinatra or something. By the way I thought Seth was coming."

"He changed his mind, didn't want Ryan to be lonely or something," Summer shrugged.

"Here we are…" Sandy began, "With a car in the driveway…"

"Make up your mind," Kirsten told Summer.

"I'm going to go in, as long as you guys come," she told them with a brave sound in her voice.

"Are you sure?" Kirsten asked her, "You don't have to if you don't really want to."

"I think I can handle it," she looked back and smiled to Kirsten, "Don't worry; you guys will be with me." Sandy hopped out of the car and helped Kirsten out and Summer led them to the door. She took her key out of her purse and opened the door. She first saw her step-mom finding out who was at the door.

"What are you doing here you little shit?" the step-monster asked, Summer didn't let it bother her, "NEIL! SUMMER'S HERE!"

"Summer? Why? What the hell!" her dad headed to the door and saw Summer, Sandy, and Kirsten standing in front of him.

"Didn't think I'd ever show my face in here?" she spat towards her dad. Kirsten took an arm off of her crutch and rubbed Summer on the back.

"Pretty much," he responded.

"Well I just came to get some stuff, then I'm gone," she looked at him and then to her arm.

"Did I do that?" he asked, he seemed pretty sober and sorry.

"Basically…yes," she responded, "When you interrupted my perfectly good shopping trip."

"You know where your room is," he glared at her, becoming angrier.

"I'll stay down here, Sandy will go with you," she told Summer, looking nervously towards Summer's dad.

"You know, I was trying to act nice because you guys were there," he told Kirsten, trying to be rude, "I bet you think that I pity you and wouldn't hurt you because you're crippled." He knocked one of her crutches out from under her arm and she yelped as she fell to the ground.

"You were wrong," he looked at her, "I've gotta go down to the bar and meet my boys now. Later." Kirsten sat on the floor, clutching her hurt leg as the step-monster came in.

"I'm not gonna hurt you," she told Kirsten, helping her up, "I've tried leaving him, but he won't allow it." Kirsten looked at the pain in the ladies eyes.

"It's OK," Kirsten told her, " Sandy can help you if you want him to. He's an amazing lawyer."

"Thanks, I…I think I would like that," she handed Kirsten her crutch, "Is your leg OK?"

"No, not really," she admitted, "That was painful. But I'm sure I'll be OK." Kirsten tried to stop the tears from coming to her eyes. She didn't even know what she was crying about. When she saw Summer and Sandy coming down the stairs she turned as quick as she could and wiped her eyes.

"Just call my cell phone," Kirsten whispered to Summer's stepmother as she slipped her a piece of paper, "If you want help." Kirsten turned towards the door with the two.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx **

"You OK?" Sandy noted that Kirsten was wincing a little more than usual that night.

"Yeah, fine, sore," she lied, grabbing a bag of ice out of the freezer and heading towards the couch.

"You've seemed a little out of it since we got in the car," Sandy kissed her on the head, "When do you think you'll get to bed?"

"Sometime," she replied, "I don't really know when."

"Well if you want to tell me what is really going on then I'll be in bed," he told her, walking towards the bedroom.

"Wait!" she called, hobbling slowly after him, "I'll tell you in the bedroom." He smiled and picked his wife up and carried her to the bedroom.

"So what's up?" he asked her, setting her gently on the bed.

"God, her dad is awful, worse than I expected. Sandy he knocked me off my crutches ran, hits his wife and will not let her file for a divorce!" Kirsten was yelling now, "I gave her your card, said that you'd help her."

"I will do so, and he knocked you off your crutches? What a mean guy!" Sandy kissed Kirsten.

"Night," she kissed him back, "We'll fix all this."

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**A/N: Coming up on the next chapter…back to work, physical therapy and more! **


	10. Or As Norm as It Gets

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the OC.**

**A/N: This story is fun for me! Yay! I love Kikistrain's story I forgot the title that is on amaaazin'. **

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It was the first morning that she had to use the alarm to wake up. She yawned and stretched her arms as she sat up in bed and looked over to a smiling Sandy.

"Are you excited about work?" he questioned, giving his wife a kiss on the cheek.

"I guess. Afterwards I have to go to the doctor, Ryan's taking me," she told him, slowly easing her way out of bed.

"I never really paid attention but your collarbone looks gross," he informed her, as she laughed.

"It basically will be like that for…ever," she grabbed her crutches and walked into her closet. She chose a white designer suit, something she wore a lot. As she took off her pajama shirt she looked down at her stomach and legs for the first time. She had a lot of ugly scars on her stomach and two on her leg. She knew she had one on her collarbone and a very noticeable one on her forehead.

"What are you doing?" Sandy asked her, snapping her back into her world.

"Examining myself, looking at my scars," she raised her eyebrows and traced the scar that came to be the night that she crashed and had emergency surgery.

"Who is taking you to work?" he asked.

"Julie's coming to get me in like…a half-hour?" Kirsten guessed while finishing changing. Changing was hard, and it was also embarrassing that it was hard. She hadn't woken up feeling this gloomy yet.

"Are you gonna be eating before you leave?" Sandy asked, wrapping his hands around her waist, "I'll carry ya."

"I've gotta brush my hair and do my makeup, wait ten minutes," she ordered him, "See ya in a few."

"Wait, I'm starting to get concerned about Neil Roberts," he sounded serious; "He hurt you!"

"And…I mean…he fled…who knows if he even came back," she slipped on her shoes; even though she was one-footed her brace didn't cover her foot.

"Yeah…but trust me, he's getting sued," Sandy put his arms on his wife's shoulders, "I love you, and I'll do anything for you to be OK."

"Thanks," she whispered in response and finished getting ready.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Sandy!" Kirsten yelled, giggling as he carried her into the kitchen while running and setting her gently on a chair.

"PDA," Seth pretended to shield his eyes.

"I figured it would be quicker," Sandy shrugged, ruffling his son's hair as he made a face.

"Kirsten," Ryan began, "When is your appointment? I have a free period last period so if I get a note and give it to the dean then I can get out."

"Hmm…I think it's at 3:00. Most days I won't have an appointment and therapy but it's the one week from surgery check-up deal," she told him, "So can you get to my office by 2:45?"

"Easily," he replied, "See you then." Ryan headed out to the pool house right as Summer walked into the kitchen.

"Good morning," she chirped, happier than usual.

"Well someone's bubbly this morning," Sandy grinned, handing Kirsten a bagel and coffee.

"I guess I just had an epiphany," she kissed Seth on the cheek and walked over to hug Kirsten good morning, "I realized that my life isn't sucking right now. Sure I may have a broken wrist and bruises because of my dad but still I have people that love me and this awesome mansion to stay in and the people love me." Kirsten grinned and motioned Summer over for another hug.

"You should teach me how to make my wife this happy," Sandy joked, putting his arms around both girls.

"Back away, she's mine!" Seth joined the hugging-hippie activity, "Reliving the hippy days." The group was interrupted by the front door opening.

"Kiks?" Julie called out, "Ready for your first day back!"

"In the kitchen," Kirsten called back, breaking up the little group.

"I love the suit," she told Kirsten, "Let's go."

"Sandy, go get my crutches," she ordered him, laughing at the tone in her voice.

"Going my love," he responded, walking towards the bedroom.

"Are you excited?" Julie asked Kirsten, helping herself to a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, I am, back to the norm," she shrugged, "I guess as normal as it's gonna get."

"What do you mean?" Julie asked as Sandy returned with her crutches.

"I'll tell you on the way to work," Kirsten told her, kissing Sandy.

"Goodbye all!" she smiled, "Ryan, I'll see you around three!"

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"So, the norm," Julie started, backing her Lexus out of the driveway, "What do you mean?"

"I remember waking up in the hospital," she began.

"Tell me about it, I'm here to listen."

"So I woke up but hadn't opened my eyes and suddenly I felt this surge of pain through my whole entire body. The pain stayed on the inside and it was hard to breathe but then I realized I was hooked up to a machine to help me breathe. My leg hurt so bad it felt like it was being compressed and I wanted to scream. It had an itch and I reached out, it was above my knee and there was plaster. The area around my knee was thicker. Sandy was calling to me and my eyes were scrunched up because it was too bright and my collarbone was obviously broken. Gosh there was more but…" Kirsten took a breath.

"Wow," Julie didn't really have any deep thoughts to share, "God, Kiks, what the hell would we have done without you? That asshole that hit you should be punished," Julie started.

"I dunno what you would have done without me, and Julie…don't say asshole," Kirsten smiled, using her don't say line, "You know who I want to kill right now?"

"Who?" Julie sounded interested.

"Neil Roberts," Kirsten stated flatly, rubbing her knee at the memory.

"Oh because of Summer?" Julie asked.

"And because he tried to hurt…someone else," she started, "But I don't really want to talk about it."

"We're here," Julie informed Kirsten, getting out of the car.

"Wow," Kirsten muttered, "I forgot about this." The two went into the building together silently.

"Good morning Kiki!" Caleb kissed Kirsten on the cheek.

"Hey dad," she smiled sweetly, "Is there a lot of work awaiting me?"

"Oh yes," he grinned, letting her go to her room, "Come tell me if something doesn't make sense."

"Thanks," she called back, hobbling towards her office. The smell of flowers filled her nose as she looked around her room. She had acquired a lot of stuff since the accident. She sat down in her big leather chair and booted up her computer. She knew that she really wouldn't be getting much work done since her mind was all over the place. She booted up her computer and typed in her password _notawasp, _because she was pretty sure that no one would ever think that she would have such a funny password. She got up and slowly made her way to a huge pile of cards on a chair. Instead of working she would read these. She didn't understand why Julie hadn't bothered to bring them by the house. She began to read the endless stack.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Ryan pulled up outside the Newport Group and made his way into the office area. He saw Kirsten coming out and went to greet her.

"Hey Kirsten," he smiled at her and helped her towards the car, "Are you psyched about your appointment?"

"Oh yes," she joked, sliding into the car, "I'm pumped." Ryan pulled the Range Rover out of the parking lot and they started towards the clinic.

"So," Ryan decided some small-talk was definitely needed, he could tell that Kirsten was still a little stressed out in the car, "How was your first day back?"

"Definitely a little bit crazy," she replied, "But pretty much good."

"Well that's good to hear," he smiled, pulling into the parking lot of the clinic, "It looks like we're here."

"Well..." she sighed, "Here we are." She started to get out of the car but she noticed Ryan coming around to help. She wished that Seth had always been this polite. The two walked towards the doors of the clinic, there was no turning back.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"Wow," Kirsten slowly hobbled into the house, "I never expected that it would take that much energy out of me!" She took a seat at the kitchen table and looked up at Seth who she hadn't noticed in the kitchen.

"Nice to see you too mom," he joked, putting a glass of water in front of her.

"I'm pooped Seth," she lay her head on her arms on the table, "That was hard."

"I didn't say that I didn't believe you!" he threw his arms in the air. She looked in the doorway and saw Summer.

"Hey Summer!" Kirsten smiled, looking up at the girl.

"How was therapy?" she asked.

"Exhausting," she sighed, suddenly smelling the fumes of take-out.

"Kids dig in, parents in the bedroom," Sandy announced, setting the containers of food on the counter.

"Eww…that is something I don't want to picture," Seth joked.

"It's strictly business talk," he announced, watching his exhausted wife stand up and grab her crutches.

"Hey sweetie," she sweetly smiled, taking Sandy's arm.

"Let's go," he put his arm around her waist as she hobbled towards the bedroom.

"What's the business?" she asked, looking him in the eye.

"We're going to court against Neil in two weeks," he hugged her; "Summer will be in safe hands. The only thing is we are going to fight his step-wife for custody of her." Kirsten gave him a fearful look.

"Don't worry, it'll all be OK," he hugged her as she buried her head into his jacket, "It's been a rough couple months but it'll be better, I promise." She looked up at him and planted a kiss on his forehead.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**A/N: There are two or three chapters left and a BRILLIANT plan for a sequel. It has to do with something that happens in the last chapter. Next chapter is the trial and either that or the next chapter Kirsten will finally walk…yay! So I hope more comes soon! I'll be gone Sunday-Sunday but I might be able to write some while I'm away. I'll finish before camp hopefully. Thanks to my awesome reviewers! Love you all!**


	11. Goodbye Beautiful

**Disclaimer: I own nothing related to the OC. **

**A/N: I'm back. Yes I had a wonderful time but now I can write a lot! Yay! Actually it's been awhile, but whatevs. I felt as though I wasn't getting the proper amount of reviews. **

**BY THE WAY…IT'S THE LAST CHAPTER! **

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Kirsten lay on the couch with her legs on Sandy's lap while Ryan occupied the leather chair and Seth and Summer cuddled on the ground. The group sat around in sweatpants while eating Chinese, looking over last minute notes for the next day.

"Let's take a break," Sandy suggested, setting his papers on Kirsten's stomach. She was half-asleep. After two weeks of therapy she still was exhausted after her sessions. She picked at the Velcro straps of the brace and tossed it onto the floor and allowed herself and her Mooshu pork to get comfortable on the couch.

"But Sandy, tomorrow is the trial, those three can take a break but I cannot live with my father anymore, much less the step-monster!" Summer was extremely tense about her situation. She was mostly afraid that they would lose and she would still have to live with her dad.

"Summer, there's like, no chance you guys will lose," Seth told her grabbing the papers from her hand and flipping them upside down.

"COHEN!" she smacked him and grabbed the papers back, continuously hitting him on the back of the head with them. Sandy and Ryan chuckled in amusement as Kirsten tried to grab the papers from Summer's hands.

"Come on you guys, either take a break or work, but don't fight about it," Kirsten told them, handing Summer her papers.

Seth began flipping through his cell-phone. There wasn't any point to Ryan or he working; they wouldn't be able to do anything in trial. He came across his photo album. _Summer, Ryan giving him the finger, Modest Mouse, The Walkmen, Alex, _and then he stopped. He semi-remembered taking the picture of his mom asleep in the hospital. It was the first day that they were able to see her. She looked really bad.

"Check out this picture," Seth handed his mom the phone. She glanced at it for a moment.

"God, I've never looked that bad in my life!" she exclaimed putting the phone down beside her as Sandy picked it up.

"Those weren't your best days," he looked at her and examined the picture closer, "Actually, that was the first day you were in the hospital." She looked at him wide-eyed and then back down to the paper. She looked over towards Summer. She looked super-stressed out. Kirsten maneuvered herself onto the floor next to her and put an arm around her neck.

"Don't worry sweetie," Kirsten reassured her, "It will be fine!"

"If you say so," she shrugged, setting her head on Kirsten's shoulder, "I believe you."

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx **

Summer Roberts felt tears rush to her eyes. The whole court process had been a blur.

_"Neil Roberts, I sentence you to 10 years in jail and 2 years on parole with supervised visits at your daughter's discretion." _ Summer had smiled after that one.

_"I grant custody of Summer Roberts to her step-mom, Lucille Roberts." _

Summer wanted to faint. She looked over at Kirsten who was looking down at her feet. She knew that this was going to kill Kirsten. She hated to be self-centered, or self-involved, but she knew that Kirsten loved her a lot. She loved her a lot more than the step-mom did for one thing.

Summer looked back and made eye-contact with Seth. His face was completely pale. Summer then looked over at Sandy. He looked completely shocked. She could see the pain in his eyes. She knew that he hated losing cases and this was no exception.

Summer buried her head in her arms and felt hot tears pour onto her arms. She knew that the step-monster would do something to make her life miserable once again. She started feeling claustrophobic, even though the courtroom was huge. She suddenly stood up and bolted for the door.

Sandy went after her. He found her with her head buried in her knees in front of the courthouse. He watched from a distance for a second. He could tell even from her back that so many emotions were running through her body at the moment.

"You'll still see us all the time Summer, you won't be far away," Sandy sat down beside her and rubbed her back, "You are welcome to be in our house anytime you want to be in it." Summer rested her head on his shoulder,

"I've never really had a real family. I mean my dad and my mom split up when I was little. They took it to court. I don't really remember it but my grandpa told me that it was really bad and messy. I never really got the chance to hang out and get to know my mom. Then she died and…oh god this all sucks," Summer rambled to Sandy. He put his arm around her and squeezed her.

"If anything goes wrong, give me a call, stop by, whatever," Sandy told her, "I know the past couple months have sucked for everyone…but we'll make it through."

Summer smiled gratefully and started to stand up. Right as she got up she noticed the step-monster coming out of the courthouse doors. Sandy put an arm around her and they started towards the step-mom.

"Ready?" the step-monster asked uninterestedly, "Get whatever crap you need to and be home. We've got to talk." Summer nodded and turned to head towards the Cohen's car. The rest of the court was beginning to come out.

"We just need to find Seth, Ryan, and Kirsten," Sandy told her, looking through the crowd. He saw Seth and Ryan following a hobbling Kirsten. None of the group really knew what to say.

"It really won't be too bad, we're like, less than a mile away from your house," Seth tried to cheer up Summer who looked like she was about to cry. It was at the moment that she finally broke a grin that her step-mom came hustling out of the courthouse.

"There you are Summer!" she called, looking all too flashy in her pink sweater and white pants.

"Hi," Summer looked at the ground.

"Well we should get going, you can get your stuff from their house later," she told Summer, motioning towards the Cohen family.

"Fine," Summer said quietly, "Bye you guys." Kirsten hopped over and gave Summer a hug, as did Sandy, Seth, and even Ryan.

"See you tomorrow," Seth called after her. She didn't even turn around as she slumped towards her step-mom's car.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx **

Kirsten woke up and hobbled into her closet. She pulled out her favorite pair of Juicy Couture sweat pants and a white tank top. She had physical therapy today. Just like about everyday. She finished getting dressed and hobbled her way towards the kitchen.

"Morning," Seth and Ryan both muttered as they continued looking at their favorite parts of the newspaper.

"Hey sweetie," Sandy walked over and kissed her on the cheek, "All ready for your physical therapy slash doctor's appointment extravaganza?"

"Never been more ready," she grinned, kissing him back. Seth just grunted.

"You guys take the Range Rover to school," Sandy tossed the keys to Ryan and Seth just grunted.

"Bye," Seth called towards his parents.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx **

Kirsten sat nervously in the waiting room. Sandy had left and was going to come pick her up whenever she called. Something felt different about today. It was a mix of worrying about her appointment and worrying about Summer.

"Kirsten, come on back to the x-ray room," the nurse called to her. She grabbed the crutches that she had leaned against the seat behind her and hobbled back towards the doctor's office. She took a seat on the table as the nurse followed her in.

Please remove the brace," the nurse told her. Kirsten did as she said without flinching. Her leg didn't even really hurt anymore. She took the x-rays and started fiddling around on the other side of the room.

"The doctor will be with you in a moment," the nurse left the room and Kirsten continued sitting. She knew that she wasn't supposed to bend her knee, but it didn't really hurt when she touched it or moved it around a lot. No one seemed to be coming in so she lightly began to bend her knee. It hurt a little bit but not a lot. She smiled.

She had a lot on her mind that day. All she could think about was her leg and Summer. She really hoped that Summer was going to be OK. She knew that inside Summer's step-mom was actually nice but Summer didn't seem to be convinced. Kirsten sighed and leaned back, hoping the doctor would be in soon.

The door opened and in popped her doctor, "Hi Kirsten."

"Hi, how are you?" she asked politely.

"Very happy about what I'm about to tell you," he told her. Kirsten smiled a little. It sounded like good news was headed her way.

"What's the good news?" she asked eagerly.

"Well, I looked at your x-rays, and I don't see why you would need crutches anymore," he explained, "It has healed very nicely. During your physical therapy you will practice walking and we'll see how it feels for you. You will still have to come for physical therapy and wear a brace for the next few weeks but you'll be walking at the same time!" Kirsten's grin was so big that the doctor couldn't help but grin with her, "I think you should head over to your therapist and begin from there. Please use your crutches to get over there though."

"Thank you SO much," Kirsten smiled, "For everything." She hobbled quickly away, eager to get to her physical therapist.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx **

Kirsten had called Sandy to pick her up, not telling him the good news. She walked slowly towards the front door and saw the BMW pull up. She started out the front door. She had a definite limp, but she was happy. Walking didn't hurt too bad, but her leg was sore and tingled whenever she took a step.

Sandy looked out the window of the BMW and suddenly saw his wife walking to the car. He grinned and opened the window.

"Walking?" he called out smiling, "Well good work partner." She reached the car, hopped in, and smiled at him, giving him a big slobbery kiss.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx **

Summer Roberts knocked on the front door of the Cohen's house at 2:15. She had skipped school and packed her things. She had some bad news.

Kirsten walked over to the door and answered it. Summer was standing in hysterics at the front door. Kirsten quickly grabbed onto Summer and gave her a hug,

"What's wrong sweetie?"

"I'm moving to New York," Summer answered, sighing. Summer glanced down and suddenly noticed Kirsten's state.

"Oh my God you're walking!" she smiled, instantly feeling tears fall again.

"Oh my God you're moving," Kirsten almost screamed, "You can't! I won't let you! No!" Summer squeezed her grip on Kirsten and the two ladies stayed in their position for a good five minutes.

"When are you leaving?" Kirsten asked quietly, hoping the answer wouldn't be too bad.

"Tomorrow," Summer practically whispered, "I came to tell you and then I have to tell Seth, get my stuff, and pretty much leave you guys." Kirsten felt tears coming to her own eyes as Summer spilled the news.

"You are ALWAYS welcome in this home," Kirsten reminded her, "If you ever need a place to stay, we're here."

"Thanks for everything," Summer continued her hug, "I love you so much." Kirsten felt more tears sting her eyes.

"I love you too Summer," Kirsten told her. The two went walking towards the kitchen.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx **

Seth and Ryan came bursting through the door, talking about the most random things as usual. Kirsten walked out to greet them. The boys stopped in their tracks as she limped over to them and pulled them towards the kitchen.

"Mom?" Seth asked puzzled, "What's with the walking?"

Kirsten grinned for a split second and then put her brooding face back on, "I had an appointment, and I'm doing well." As soon as Seth entered the kitchen the smile on his face dropped as a red-eyed Summer sat on a stool at the kitchen table.

"What are you doing here? Why weren't you at school?" Seth questioned, taking a tentative step towards his girlfriend.

"I have some bad news," she proclaimed, she let out a quick sob and continued, "I'm moving."

"To where? The numbered streets? I doubt it. Next door?" Ryan kicked Seth to tell him to stop.

"Not so much," she cried, "I'm moving to New York City." The room went quiet as Seth and Ryan took in the news.

"No," Seth began as he voice grew louder, "What are we going to do? NO!" Ryan put a hand on Seth's shoulder, who started towards the stairs, "You can't leave!"

Ryan and Kirsten stood silently in the kitchen as Summer raced after Seth. Kirsten felt tears coming to her eyes. Ryan put an arm around her as she buried her head into his shoulder and cried.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx **

"I have to say good-bye now Seth," Summer told him as she entered his room, "I hate to do it like this, but I don't think that seeing each other would be a good idea. I want to remain really good friends but I don't want to have a boyfriend right now and I really don't want to find out that my boyfriend has cheated on me while I am gone." Summer leaned over and kissed Seth on the lips.

"I love you Summer," he choked, "I always will. I'll miss you everyday, and I'll come to visit sometime."

"I love you too, and I'll miss you always," and with one last kiss on the cheek, Summer Roberts was out his bedroom door.

In the kitchen, she hugged Kirsten, Sandy, and Ryan one last time.

She waved as she left the house.

Her life would never be the same again.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx **

**COMPLETE! Look out for the sequel coming soon…it will be Summer-centric! **

**Thanks for all the reviews and everything! Thanks sooo much! **


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